Around The Kitchen Table: ONLY BORING PEOPLE GET BORED

Hello friends, this is my (Gillian Nix's) submission for this month.....crafty cupcakes that read 'ONLY BORING PEOPLE GET BORED'.

'First World Problems' was such a good theme and I had so many ideas that it was trick to choose one to pursue. I am a high school Art teacher and I often hear kids at school saying in a very teenager kind of way, "I'm bored!". My reply is always "Only boring people get bored, don't you know!?" and that kind of makes them stop and think for a while - no kid wants to be boring after all! The sad thing is that I hear it all the time at school, and it makes me feel sad and annoyed, because usually I will hear it in a lesson that I have spent hours preparing!!! (I don't mean to boast, but my lessons are usually pretty good fun and exciting, with a lot of work gone into each one. I think that even if I brought in dancing monkeys and elephants to draw in class, I would still hear that phrase!).

I got to thinking about boredom a lot this month, and I thought about people less fortunate that us in the 'first world'. Do people who struggle to feed their families, stay healthy, fight in civil wars, survive devastating floods, struggle to get enough water.....do they ever have the luxury of being bored? I don't think so.

We have so many gadgets and things to entertain us in our world these days and I think that in general there is a significant shift in our culture toward sitting back and letting other people or things entertain us, rather than finding ways to keep ourselves entertained, interested and creative. I don't ever remember feeling bored as a child - there was always something to do, something to make or play at. Make no mistake, in no way am I pointing a grumply old wagging finger at children...it's not just children that have the curse of the boredom, I here adults all the time complaining of being bored, unfulfilled etc. Maybe we just need to get better at being happy and content with what we have in the 'first world', or at least make changes that will cure the boredom - not expect someone else or something else to fix it. I have projects that I keep on the back burner for times of possible boredom, and I never, ever feel like I have enough time to do all the things I would like to do. I hate the thought of being bored! My sister in-law told me last night that her grade 4 teacher once told her that boredom is caused by a lack of imagination. I think the grade 4 teacher was absolutely right!

Okay, my ranting is over!

I had so many ideas on how to present the phrase 'Only boring people get bored', and I even started a lino print on Tuesday of this week, but I just ran out of time. I really liked the thought of turning this idea of boredom into something that would take a lot of time to complete, which the lino would have perfect for. Sadly, I just ran out of time to complete it so I settled on my next idea of cupcakes. (My excuse I hear you ask!? I started a new job this week and it has been so, so busy! I will complete the lino one day and post it on here, I promise!) I had lots of fun making the cakes and like all small children, I liked the cake mix off the bowl which was just great!

Oh and on Tuesday I'm going to take some cakes over to friends who are involved with art club....I won't be eating 24 cupcakes myself!

How cute are the polka-dot paper cases!?

Pre-oven...

Post oven...

Making the funky lettering....

I got the idea for the lettering a few nights ago from watching 'Better Homes and Gardens'...I think it's just brilliant! I was so happy that it was on TV because I was just sat watching TV and thinking about how I would make the letters for the cakes...freaky or what!

Here is the video link to the recipe that I watched.

Remember to write your chocolate letters back to front!